


Blue-White Giant

by matrixrefugee



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, No warnings apply, unless one is a cynical troll who dun like kyoot one-off romance.))
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-26 20:30:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18185369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matrixrefugee/pseuds/matrixrefugee
Summary: A waitress in a star cruise liner meets a time-travelling conman who's always up for a shipboard romance.





	Blue-White Giant

**Author's Note:**

> Written at the last minute for "Doctor Who -- Astrid Peth/Jack Harkness, stardust" at [](https://oxoniensis.dreamwidth.org/profile)[oxoniensis](https://oxoniensis.dreamwidth.org/)'s [Porn Battle](http://oxoniensis.livejournal.com/526639.html)

The guy at table twenty, close by one of the viewing ports which blazed with a view of Rigel, had an air about him that suggested he'd started out in the steerage, but he'd invited himself into the first class quarters. Likely that tuxedo he was wearing had been pinched from some bloke's room when he wasn't looking, and the impish look in the wearer's eyes suggested he might happily liberated it from the owner while said owner was asleep, following a private dance.

"Table for one tonight?" she asked. "You look lonesome."

"Not if the other empty chair is really an invitation for whoever might pass by and need a seat," the cocky fellow said, grinning at her, a grin that practically glowed more brilliantly than Rigel's trailing gas clouds.

She couldn't help smirking at that bold statement: it was practically directed at her, albeit not in so many words. And she was still on shift. "So what'll it be? We've got Carnellian Brisket with Cranberry glaze an' Cream Brocken with New Venus Potatoes as the entrees of the night."

"Ahh, one of each? Haven't eaten since I liberated myself from the steerage: been a bit busy finding myself a real room," he says. "Captain Jack Harkness, and who might you be with the starry eyes?" he asked.

"Astrid Peth, at yer service," she replied, jotting on her pad. "Anything to drink?"

"Hypervodka martinis an' keep 'em coming," he said.

"Posh tastes you got," she said, approvingly: the kind of man she couldn't help wanting to step out with; he'd clearly done some travelling and acquired some good tastes.

The ship lurched, scattering dishes and staggering diners; the hololabras on the ceiling flickered and went out. Several people yelped, startled; one woman screamed. Astrid tried to brace her feet as she approached Captain Harkness's table, but the plates slide from north to south and skidded off, raining down over the man's head.

"Oh dear," she muttered.

"Ah, don't worry about it: a few bits of crockery aren't gonna kill me," he replied, rising, brushing bits off himself. "You all right?"

"I'm fine, but that's gonna come out of my salary," she said, with a sigh.

The ship's intercom chimed and the captain's voice came over it. _"Attention, passengers: this is your captain speaking; we're aware of the blackout. The gas clouds from Rigel are interfering with our autopilot and we've been obliged to shift to safe mode. But there's no cause for alarm: our able-bodied engineers are working to rectify the problem. We should be back to rights within a few hours. We suggest that you return to your quarters in an orderly fashion. We appreciate your cooperation."_ Relieved chatter arose, but Astrid heard one voice snarling about a pending lawsuit.

Captain Harkness chuckled, clearly hearing the same tosser. "Must've auctioned off his sense of romance to pay for his passage," he noted. "Black outs are quite romantic: you can see the stars better, no artificial light to clutter the atmosphere.

"You sound as though you've got enough romance for three other people, Captain," she said, glad for the darkness that hid how much she'd started blushing.

"We can have our own private romance, if you like; I gotta get out of this wrecked tux anyway, and I might need some help: when d'you get off shift?" he asked.

"Well, I've got to be back in the kitchen, t' help salvage what's left in the cookers," she said, glancing toward the red lit doorway to the kitchen. "But I'll be off after that: nothin' left for us to do in the dining hall. Where you bunked?"

"Stardust deck, cabin 4," he said, though she knew that one hadn't been booked before. Not that it mattered who had it, but she was glad this chap did: he had good taste.

He leaned in, putting a hand behind her head and kissed her lips, just a brief kiss, but it felt as gloriously scorching as the surface of the blue-white giant outside the viewing port. "Bit of inspiration before you scoot," he said, then went off, passing the bar in his progress and she was sure she saw him swipe a bottle that might have been champagne off the end of a shelf before disappearing among the now milling passengers.

****

A couple hours later, Astrid tiptoed along the corridor of Stardust deck, electric torch in hand, checking doors till she found number four and tapped on it. Music, some sort of soft melody with pianola and voice, played behind it, then Captain Harkness called out over it: "Door's open! Come on in!"

She chuckled at his confidence and opened the door; a wide viewing port lit the room, the light from Rigel and the gas cloud that surrounded the ship falling over Captain Jack as he reclined on the white sofa that dominated the room. He'd changed out of the wrecked tuxedo and into a white plush bathrobe.

"Ahh, the girl with the stardust in her name and her eyes," he said, rising, and she could tell he had nothing on under the robe.

"Flatterer," she murmured, letting him lead her into the cabin, the door closing behind them. "You got out of that wrecked dinner jacket."

"Got a bit sticky, almost contemplated showing up wearing just the light from those gas clouds," he said, leading her the sofa and the low table where the champagne bottle and two glasses awaited.

"What's the [music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_pSIRVF7os)?" she asked, glancing about, looking for it's source. "I've not heard this one before."

"Old Earth classic: They call it 'Stardust'," he said.

"Good song for a night like this, since it's stardust that got the ship in a black out," she remarked, chuckling.

"Lucky for us that we ran into that gas cloud," he teased, preparing to open the bottle....

((And I ran out of time... this might be continued someday...))


End file.
